Tag Archives: soccer

Racist chants were directed towards soccer player Jozy Altidore in a match in the Netherlands. This actually surprises me as you think of the Netherlands as fairly progressive, being the home of Amsterdam after all. But I’ve been casually following these incidences for the past two years and I can only conclude that soccer in Europe brings unfortunately attracts the good and the bad. And I’m sure it was the Dutch version of White trash which were acting a fool. Still, many of these talented Black players have to make tough decisions to play in these European leagues and be paid well but have to deal with bouts of racism. I have always found it interesting that racism seems to come out when people are passionate about a cause and a minority represents the other side. We look for differences to focus our hate on. I have known white people who in one breath say they love some black athlete on their favorite team and in another drop the N-bomb when speaking about something Obama has done to their disapproval. Nonetheless, I will be creating soon a Blackneks travel tab, to highlight some of the countries and places best to avoid because of racism, crime, or unstable conditions.

Ghanaian- German soccer player for AC Milan stopped a game against Pro Patria in an italian soccer match by walking off the field when a group of fans started making monkey sounds when he had the ball. Playing in mostly White countries has been a challenge for many Black players, as this http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/03/soccer-team-walks-out-on-racist-fans-in-italy/ article highlights some of the recent incidences of racism across Europe. Many parts of Europe for the most part are still playing catch up to levels of tolerance and humanity already reached by diverse countries. And the only Black face some of these individuals see on a regular basis is on the soccer field. So, like many sporting events, alcohol plus hatred towards the opposing team in general plus any ethnic differences equals expressions of racial ignorance. I admire these Black players for the bravery of just playing in such challenging situations, but Kevin-Prince Boateng might have just started a bigger movement against racism in the sport. Fans who display or tolerate such behavior shouldn’t get to enjoy soccer games like the rest of the civilized world. Soccer should start first with giving a win to the abused team and then team bans if their fans can’t get it together. There is nothing that works faster then when people are threatened with losing something they love. No matter what the best solution ultimately will be to solve this issue, thank you Kevin-Prince for helping to lead the way to zero tolerance.